Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $125.93 and last traded at $124.7750, with a volume of 4031470 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $62.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.92.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 390.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,588,000 after buying an additional 885,141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.